On 21st August fourteen enthusiastic members of Manchester-based accountants Slade and Cooper joined us to work alongside FarmStart's new organic growers, in helping to increase sustainable food production for Greater Manchester.
The Land Army regularly hosts Team Challenge Days for businesses and organisations who are looking for a way to give something back to their local community.
If you've ever wondered about a career in farming, don't sit and ponder any longer (or even take it from us), come along for an evening with an experienced local organic grower, and a participant in the FarmStart programme, to find out if growing veg is a career you would be interested in.
This Autumn we will be running our fifth Commercial Organic Horticulture course - offering people an amazing training opportunity to learn how to set up an organic food growing business from the growers themselves.
Last term Oldham Council was awarded a prestigious ‘Gold Food for Life Catering Mark’ thanks to the high quality meals being served in schools across the borough.
The Education Catering Team is only the third local authority in the country to achieve this honour – and the first in the North-West.
Last week the Land Army visited Growing with Grace in Clapham, near Lancaster. The 120 mile round trip was a bit longer than our usual Land Army missions to farms in Greater Manchester - and meant a very early start! - but this was a great opportunity for our volunteers to visit a long standing community co-operative farm dedicated to producing sustainably grown food.
A sunny stroll through giant maize fields with a fantastic backdrop of Manchester shimmering in the distance took us to Kindling’s Farmstart site, the first stop on the walk, where the 25 visitors were impressed with the wide range of organic veg being grown by the brand new growers on the scheme.
Stockport entered a new era on Friday 27th June with nearly eighty people joining Stockport Council, Stockport Homes and The Kindling Trust for the formal launch of a major initiative to make the borough one of Britain's first sustainable food cities.
Feeding Stockport is now up and running and so we though we'd ask our Feeding Stockport Co-ordinator, Jemma to tell us what has been going on over the last three months:
I am now in my third month, how time has flown by. Every day I meet someone new and hear great things which are going on in and around Stockport. The support has been fantastic with many people wanting to see how their work can fit with Feeding Stockport and how we can work together to make our food system more sustainable, helping our communities in the process.
The Strategy is an ambitious document written with the support of over a hundred groups, small businesses and partners from the public sector at three previous FeedingManchester events and is intended to:
Inform & inspire. - we have taken great examples from across Greater Manchester.
The Kindling Trust and Manchester Veg People are looking for public sector partners to pilot an exciting package that will enable you to incorporate fresh local healthy produce into meals, at a price supporting local growers – but coming within the costs of the current menus.